Count on Me
by Aiko of the Akatsuki
Summary: What was he supposed to do? He was powerless to stop what had already happened; the past couldn't be erased and rewritten. All he needed was someone to open up to; all he needed was her. Draco/OC, Rated T for snogging.


Count on Me

**Author's Note: This is a Draco/OC one-shot I was inspired to write after a having a dream. This pertains to the sixth Harry Potter movie where Draco escapes to the bathroom to cry and Harry goes after him to jinx him—only Harry doesn't find him, my OC does. This is rated T for slight making-out and 'snogging', more or less.**

**Enjoy~**

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"Katie, _who_ gave you the necklace?" Harry pressed the girl in front of him determinedly.

"I-I don't know!" Katie squeaked timidly. "I don't remember!"

My hazel eyes flicked over to the scene where Harry Potter continued to question Katie Bell about where she received the cursed necklace that hospitalized her for almost a month. I shook my head at his ridiculous behavior; if she didn't remember, she didn't remember. What gave him the nerve to question her like that though? He was shameless! Not to mention he kept blaming the entire situation on Draco. Speaking of which…

I glanced over at the blond seated beside me; his gray eyes hard as he peered into the warped reflection staring at him from his silver cup. I frowned.

"Draco?" I attempted to get his attention, voice soft.

Truthfully, I wasn't surprised when he didn't answer me. Folding one leg over the other, I turned to Pansy who was chatting excitedly about the upcoming summer and how her father was taking her on a cruise. Though I pretended to be wholly observed in her dull story, I kept passing Draco quick stares; now he looked anxious, face contorted with an unreadable expression. I almost nudged him with my elbow; his expression was disturbing me.

What was wrong with him?

Suddenly, Draco bolted from the table, striding away, and I flinched, looking at his empty seat. Where had he gone? I tossed my gaze behind myself to catch a glimpse of Draco casting a hateful glower at Harry Potter who was gazing crazily from Katie to the vanishing Draco. Crabbe and Goyle stared at me, alarmed, as I dismissed myself from the bench to go and find him.

Something wasn't right.

Professor Snape watched me leave, face stricken with apprehension. When I turned to look at him, he disappeared into the dark abysmal shadows and I assumed he was either pursuing Draco as well or leaving the situation in my care. I didn't really mind either, but I wanted to be with Draco; I wanted to help him.

Clenching my fists as I sped through the hallway, I urged myself to walk faster. He was hiding something from me, wasn't he? Ever since the beginning of the year, he had become distant, cold-hearted to those around him; we barely exchanged words anymore. I quickened my pace, breath hitching.

What could be wrong?

His footsteps were fast, repeating the same rapid pattern as he stormed down the vacant corridors; I struggled to keep up. Following him grew more difficult as he weaved around the hallways, edging through pillars as if to lose me. I narrowed my eyes, determined not to be left behind as I tracked him straight into the boys' lavatory. I stopped at the entrance, unsure of whether or not it was really necessary for me to follow him in there.

When I heard the water running, strangled sobs following, however, I raced in.

My heart faltered when I saw him.

He was bent over at the sink, dousing his face with water, shoulders trembling. I felt a shudder ripple through me, striking me into silence when he lifted his head up, gray eyes pitiless, reflected in the misted mirror. Swallowing hard, I forced the lump in my throat into oblivion, hardening my gaze to match my will.

"Draco?" I murmured calmly, listening vigilantly to confirm that we were alone.

I saw his lips move in the mirror, his callous expression diminishing. "_What?_"

Taking cautious steps toward him, the faint clicking of my heel seemed to echo off the bathroom walls, though as I grew nearer, it was drowned out by the devouring resonance of the running faucet. I stopped cautiously when we were an arm's length apart. For a moment, we stared at each other, my eyes boring into his.

I waited for him to break the silence.

The first thing he spoke was my name. "Mandy?"

I stepped closer. "Yeah?"

He stared at me for another moment before gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. He tore his gaze from mine, refusing to look at me as he covered his face with his hands, body quivering. I drew in a deep breath, battling with the urge to just reach out and comfort him. Slowly, I extended my hand to his arm and touched him lightly. He flinched as an immediate reaction and I jerked my hand away. Why was he so jumpy?

Then Draco removed his hands from his face and breathed in, chest rising. "I need you."

Without warning, he reached out to me, pulling me into his chest and securing his arms around me to ensure that I wouldn't escape. I conceded, breath catching in the hollow of my throat and remaining trapped with nowhere else to flee. I winced as Draco convulsed against me, body rigid one moment, shivering the next, anguished sobs shaking me.

"D-Draco?" my voice was nonexistent as I clutched him, fingers closing around the fabric of his shirt.

What was I supposed to do?

Shifting in his hold, I craned my neck, chin resting on his shoulder, his lips murmuring my name between sobs. I held tighter to him, his short, fluid whispers sweeping over my skin and sending tickling sensations coursing down my spine. My lips opened, parted to say some words of comfort, but they escaped me as he crushed me in his hold, voice quavering.

"I shouldn't have done it…" he managed. "…but it's too late now!"

Hugging him with all the strength I could summon, I asked, "What? Just tell me! Draco please, please…I'm here for you! You can count on me!" These words reached him, spoke to him; compelled him. His grip relaxed for a moment, but as soon as I went to pull away, it restricted again. Inhaling deeply, I strived to look up at him. "Draco?"

"What do I do?" he buried his head in my neck, lips moving against my skin. "What do I do?"

I repeated exactly what I said before, tone laconic. "Count on me."

The firmness of my own voice was startling. I felt Draco lift his head and he gazed at me with tearstained eyes crystallized in a sheath of ice. Once again I saw those eyes that I loved and I was instinctively drawn towards them, breath slowing as I went into a captivated trance. Behind the lucid luster of tears, I could see Draco's gaze searching intently for mine.

But it was helplessly lost to his.

Convinced that he was fine, I went to pull away, breaking the wistful reverie, but Draco halted me and kept me at bay, hand cupping my cheek. His lips disappeared beside my cheek as he murmured, "I love you." With those three words, I went into a pensive stupor again, unresisting, as he guided me into a gentle kiss. My cheeks flushed, heart pounding rapidly.

My arms intuitively snaked around from behind his back and I draped them around his neck as we backed against the wall, my searching fingers enclosing around his hair. His lips pressed eagerly, passionately and his hips grinded into mine. My heartbeat quickened as his hands dropped around my waist, a slight smirk embellishing his godly lips. I opened my mouth, pining for more of his sweet, irresistible taste as his lips merged again with mine.

We were inseparable.

When Draco eventually pulled away, I remained lingering in my thoughts, breathless, and gasping for more. My hands clutched his face as he leaned forward, nuzzling his nose into my tepid cheek. He smirked that familiar smirk that I hadn't seen in almost a year and my heart fluttered, voice clinging to his name, "Draco?"

He pressed his lips into mine again, silencing me.

Nothing I could say would even compare to kissing him, and, as such, I was seduced into doing so again. I couldn't think anymore; my mind's thought were erased, absent as long as his tongue was driving erotic desires and tensions throughout my melting body. Now I was the helpless one, now I needed him.

"Draco," I whispered breathlessly, "I love you so much."

He chuckled at this, leg sliding dangerously between mine, as he smoothly replied, "I'm glad," his breath tickled my neck, making it excruciating for me to bear the burden of the tension welling up within me any longer, "because now I don't plan on ever letting you go." This made me smile, a warm upspring of happiness bubbling within my chest.

I laughed lightly, words obviated by my unambiguous articulation of my emotions.

Embracing me still, Draco kept me pinned against the stone wall. I repudiated liberating him, claiming him as my own as we shared another kiss, this one wetter than the others. Draco cradled me in his arms and whispered, "Count on me…" he trailed off and my ears perked up, body stirring. He finished with a husky murmur. "Count on me to always keep you safe."

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**Author's Note: What did you think of my little fantasy? Yeah, I know it's short but I thought it was sweet. The story just flooded into my brain and I wrote it out to expel it from my system. I would appreciate reviews, otherwise I may have to send out a certain, psychotic Tom Marvolo Riddle gone Voldemort and introduce the two of you.**

**We don't want that now, do we? XD!**

**-Aiko of the Akatsuki**


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